Bobbin-cleaning machine



C. L. HICKS.

BOBBIN CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION men AUG.2I, 191s.

Patented May 11, 1920- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. L. HICKS;

BOBBIN CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2I.. 1.919.

1,339,888. a ted ay 11, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 43 /& i

In rerti'olf me, Hit .6!

UNITED STATES hATENT QFFICE. I

CHARLES L. HICKS, OF EASIIEY, SOUTH CAROLINA.

BOBBIN-CLEANING MACHINE.

Application filed August 21, 1919. Serial No. 318,916.

' will be effectually removed without injuring the bobbins or the threads of the fiber and without exposing the operator to injury through contact with the member which acts upon the roving. The stated objects and such other objects as will incidentally appear in the course of the following description are attained in the use of a machine such as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a central transverse section of the same;

Fig. 3 is a plan View thereof;

Fig. 4: is a longitudinal section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In carrying out the invention, I employ a supporting frame 1 which may be of any preferred substantial construction. In the lower portion of the frame I journal in suitable bearings a fan shaft 3, a fan casing 4L being provided around this shaftand communicating through a tube or spout 5 with the lower portion of a casing 6 which extends under the cleaning member. A pulley 7 is provided upon one end of the fan shaft and this pulley is connected by a belt 8 with a pulley 9 upon the driving shaft 10. A second pulley 11 on said shaft receives power from any driving instrumentality through a belt 12 as will be readily understood.

Upon the frame is an upper casing constructed with end plates 13 providing journal boxes for the driving shaft 10 and the upper edges of these end plates are arcuate and concentric with the driving shaft, inwardly projecting flanges 14 extending from the upper edges of said plates, as clearly shown in the drawings. From the ends of the flanges 14 connecting strips or bars 15 extend and from the lower edges of these bars or strips horizontally disposed flanges 16 project outwardly to rest upon and be secured rigidly to the upper end of the supporting frame as will be readily under- Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Patented llIay 11, 1920. 1

stood. In the strips 15, I provide longitu dinal slots 17 which slidably receive brackets or lugs 18 projecting from the arcuate gage plates 19. Adjusting screws 20 are fitted in the lugs or brackets 18 and serve by their manipulation to adjust the gage plates 19 toward or from each'other so as to regulate the space between the opposed edges of said plates according to the size of the bobbins to be cleaned. The opposed edges of the said plates are, furthermore, beveled, as shown at 21, so that they provide seats for the bobbin to be cleaned and furnish a support therefor which will permit the roving to be reached by the cleaning member below the gage plates but will hold the bobbin itself out of contact with said member. The gage plates 19 are constructed with extensions 22 which extend toward the ends of the casing 6 and under shields 23 extending from the flanges 14. The members 22 and 28 together constitute a hood or cover which incloses the cleaning member so that the hands of the operator cannot come in contact therewith. The adjusting screws 20 serve to regulate the width of the space between the opposed edges of the gage plates 19 according to the diameter of the bobbin to be cleaned and in order to adjust both gage plates longitudinally of the casing so as to dispose the bobbin in position to be engaged by a portion of the cleaning memher which has not become worn through long continued use, I provide an adjusting screw or threaded rod 241 which has a threaded engagement with an extension 25 of one of the lugs 18 and is journaled in a bearing 26 upon the frame but is held against endwise movement in said bearing. A. crank or other handle 27 is provided upon the end of this adjusting rod to facilitate its manipulation. The cleaning member consists of a cylinder or cylindrical body 23 secured upon the driving shaft 10 and a covering 29 secured upon and around the said body, said covering consisting preferably of card clothing although any material having a surface which will engage and strip the roving may be employed.

In practice, the gage plates 19 are adjusted toward or from each other by manipulation oi the adjusting screws 20, after which a bobbin to be cleaned is held against the beveled edges 21 of said plates so that the roving wound thereon will be engaged by the rapidly revolving cleaning member consisting of the body 28 and the teeth 29.. The teeth 29 will engage and draw off the roving without injuring the fiber and the lint thus taken up by said teeth will be drawn from them by the suction of the fan within the casing at and may be blown into any convenient receptacle or driven into the outer air. It is obvious that if the cleaning operation is localized so that it is all performed by one ring or annular portion of the cleaning member, the working face 01 said member will become worn and in order that a new portion of the working face may be brought into operation the gage plates are adjusted longitudinally of the casing without changing their relative positions. This movement is efiected by the use of the adjusting rod 24 as will be readily understood and it will be noted that the members 22 and 23 are telescopically engaged with each other and with the flanges it so that as the gage plates are shifted longitudinally the hoodor casing provided by said members 1 1, 22 and 23 will be er:- tended at one side of the gage plates and collapsed or reduced at the opposite side thereor. In all positions of the parts, however, the cleaning member will be exposed only at that portion which lies in the plane of the space between the opposed edges of the gage plates as will be obvious. The bobbins to be cleaned may be stored in a receptacle 2 arranged adjacent the end of the machine and extending around in front thereof, the operator being seated between the front of the machine and the receptacle.

My machine removes the roving from the bobbins more rapidly and efficiently than it can be done by hand and effects a saving in bobbins and in fiber for the reason that the bobbin is not permitted to come in contact with the cleaning member and the fiber is not torn or broken by said member.

It is to be understood that the accompanying drawings are illustrative only and not restrictive, and that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the invention as the same is defined in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A machine for the purpose set forth comprising a rotatable cleaning member, a casing inclosing said cleaning member and comprising spaced gage plates, means for adjusting said gage plates toward or from each other, and means for shifting the gage plates longitudinally of the cleaning member while in a set spaced relation to each other.

2. A machine for the purpose set forth comprising a rotatable cleaning member, a casing inclosing said cleaning member and comprising arcuate gage plates disposed circumferentially of the cleaning member and adapted to support a bobbin to be cleaned, means for adjusting said gage plates toward or from each other, and means for shifting the adjusted gage plates along the cleaning member.

3. A. machine for the purpose set "forth comprising a rotatable cleaning member having a plurality of flexible fiber-engaging teeth, gage plates extending over said member, a casing comprising end plates supporting said cleaning member and flanges projecting inwardly from said end plates, telescoping members engaging under said flanges, and gage plates carried by said telescoping members and arranged to expose a portion of the cleaning member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES L. HICKS. [n s] 

